Monday, November 29, 2010

Some 150 members of Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) held a pocket protest where they symbolically declared “Pakikibaka kontra Kontraktwalisasyon, Himagsikan laban sa Globalisasyon” as a continuation of Andres Bonifacio’s fight. The highlight of the mini-rally was the tearing of 5-months employment contracts ala shredding of cedulas by Bonifacio and the Katipuneros.

“If Andres Bonifacio were alive today he will no doubt lead a revolution against imperialist globalization which is the root of contractualization,” declared Renato Magtubo, PM chair.

PM also sponsored this morning a labor forum entitled “Pilipinas Gaganda Kung Di Bansa ng Kontraktwal” at the Holy Trinity Parish, Calabash Road, Balic-Balic, Manila. The participants then made a short march to Welcome Rotonda for the mini rally.

The pocket protest today was a buildup for the commemoration of Andres Bonifacio day. Tomorrow PM will assemble at Mehan Garden in Manila by 9:00 am then march to Mendiola for a joint rally with other labor groups by 11:00 am.

Gerry Rivera, PM vice chair and president of the Philippine Airlines Employees’ Association asserted that “Both PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna and Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz sing the same tune of rationalizing outsourcing as a ‘global practice.’ They do not however reveal that contractualization as a consequence of outsourcing is also the most despised ‘employment practice’ around the world.”

The November 30 protest will be a nationwide commemoration with the same calls of “Fight contractualization, Oppose globalization.” In Cebu City there will be a labor unity march at downtown Colon St. in the morning. In Bacolod City some 500 industrial workers and hacienda laborers will have a rally at the Bacolod City Plaza-Rotonda. In Davao City, there will be another labor unity rally.

“The Filipino way of life should be a regular job that provides decent wages, substantial benefits, security of tenure, decent working conditions and the freedom to have a voice and representation in the workplace through a union. If jobs are regular and there are no contractuals, it will truly be Pilipinas Kay Ganda,” argued Magtubo.

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Our Vision

Our dream is a world that gives due importance to the role of the working class and respects the dignity of labor. A social order where the working men and women of the world live together in peace, harmony and progress.Our aspirations lie in the emancipation of labor. A government that is truly of the workers, by the workers and for the workers.

Our hopes rest in a future where social progress thrives not for the benefit of a few people but for the development and richness of the entire humankind. A society that is free from the chains of wage slavery and where oppression does not exist.

Our Mission

Forge the unity of the workers into an independent working class party to organize them as a potent political force in social transformation towards the advancement and protection of labor from the scourge of globalization, establishment of a genuine workers’ government and the emancipation of the working class from capitalist exploitation and wage slavery.

Workers Unite!

The working class is the most important class in society. But, labor will only be a force to reckon with at a time when labor assumes the responsibility of leading the struggle to a decent living - free from exploitation of the propertied elite.

The time has come to rally every underprivileged sector of the society, to take the bull by the head and confront the issues of today. The working class must take an active role in every political exercise presented. The backbone of the independent party must be comprised of the working class with the other marginalized sectors in solidarity.

We must organize politically.

This is our own challenge and we must vow not to shirk from it.

Our future is in our hands, in our unity, in our struggle, in our party.